IoD says the UK Economy is now well-prepared for the end of furlough
Responding to the latestxa0labour market figures, showingxa0axa0continuingxa0fall in unemployment fromxa04.7% from April-June toxa04.6%xa0in May-July,xa0Kitty Ussher, Chief Economist at the Institute of Directors, said:xa0“The economy is nowxa0well-prepared for the end of furlough, withxa0unemployment demonstrating axa0clearxa0downward trend andxa0thexa0highest level of vacancies in the economy since records began.xa0
“In fact, withxa044% ofxa0IoDxa0members are reporting staff shortages, across all skill levels,xa0the challenge for government isxa0to put its money where its mouth is andxa0demonstratexa0in practicexa0how we canxa0fill vacancies byxa0investingxa0in our domestic workforcexa0in a post-Brexit world.xa0xa0
“Today’s data shows there may be a particular opportunity to use flexible working to increase employment rates among people whoxa0wantxa0to work remotely: inactivity rates due to ‘looking after family or home’ havexa0fallen sharply since the pandemic hitxa0(see chartxa07 here).xa0xa0
“The government now needs urgently to roll out and ramp up lifelong opportunities to retrain, including widening the scope of training provided through the apprenticeship levy.”
